Cedric the Roaming Gnome, my faithful traveling companion, assisted during the conference by being Field Reporter and COO, or Chief Opinions Officer, of the weekend.

Cedric insisted that hew hashtags on Twitter be created so people can track his antics (and opinions): #Cedric, #RoamingGnome and #CedricApproves. He contemplated #CedricDisapproves, however he suggested following the adage, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”; for a cantankerous gnome, sometimes he can be pretty diplomatic.

I got a lot of swag. I dare say closing in on 40 pounds minimum of swag; this included a bottle of lube from the fine people at Trojan. That’s right…the condom people. You heard me.

Besides all of that, I got to see Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, and Guy Kawasaki (who gave away 500 copies of his newest book, APE How to Publish a Book, and yes – I snagged a copy) speak in addition to Sandy Jones-Kaminski, who wrote the book “I’m at a Networking Event – Now What???”. I got to meet Sandy, she signed the book I won (it’s good to know your Dale Carnegie quotes) and we spent a fantastic two hours talking (and getting shushed by a woman with supersonic hearing). Good things happened during that conversation and I sincerely hope things pan out from what was discussed during our discourse. Plus, I promised to review the book once I’ve finished reading it!

The fun didn’t stop there! Due to my “bad kid at the back of the class” attitude during breakfast on Saturday where tables were reserved for the various genres of blogs (weddings, mommy-blogs, education, atheists, etc.), I wrote up a sign that said, “I’m just here to eat some breakfast”, which caused a few passersby to chuckle and one woman to say, “I just want to eat some breakfast, too! May I join you?” INDEED! I was floored when I discovered that DazyLady’s and my new dining companion was Peggy Wagener, the woman who started up Living Without Magazine! We spent a great deal of the morning speaking, had lunch together again, and she requested a copy of the article I wrote that was published in N Magazine! She also stated that she wanted to discuss some future plans with me further.

Two exciting and influential women in two days?! Are you KIDDING ME!? Kismet is a wonderful thing. I am truly in awe of how The Fates can step in and push people together to discuss great things. Yeah – I’m STILL reeling from the excitement.

On top of all of that, I also got to see Cheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, speak about her book “Lean In” and her organization. I haven’t read her book (unlike Mr. Kawasaki, who hasn’t sold 1 million copies of his book but gave away copies, Ms. Sandberg brought a LARGE pile of her book to sell to conference attendees). I have, however, heard many mixed reviews about it and her message, and what I got from her interview during the conference amounted to: misandry, male-bashing and promoting “bossy little girls” to become the “Bull in the China Shop”. Sorry, Ms. Sandberg, great business leaders aren’t “bossy”, they listen, are present, are effective and lead by example. You didn’t appear to say any of those things.

So, on top of all of that, I also had my first time riding a city bus ever. The three-day bus pass was $20, includes unlimited rides and I rode the bus repeatedly and survived to write about it. No really – it wasn’t scary at all and it also beat the average $26/one-way cab ride from the hotel to the conference center (and back).

And, last but not least… I will take a moment to say Congratulations to the man in the hotel room* adjacent to mine for having two orgasms in under two hours. I woke up initially to the jackhammering on the wall; I stayed up for the finale…. only because the jackhammering was keeping me awake… at 3 AM, and again at 4 AM. By the way, I hope your partner came, too; they were silent, so I couldn’t tell, but they deserved something after all of that. Sadly, it wasn’t as good for me; I was a wee bit tired come Friday morning from the early morning “bedcast”.

*Note: The Essex Inn at 800 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago has thin walls.

Congrats on your excursion, sounds like you made some great connections. You also reminded me that I never got back to complimenting you on the N article. There were some really great tips in there especially for the ladies and of course what’s not to like about the photo layouts, beautifully done. When I saw this latest edition it reminded where I knew I had seen you before in a previous N photo shoot, also very nicely done. The photographers work, the Wisconsin backdrops and the nice looking models you have worked with make for some very memorable work. As sales person I often times spend nights away from home in a hotel/motel and I can say the price of the room has nothing to do with the thickness off the walls. I too have endured my share of screamers and OMG shouts, well at least you know someone is enjoying their stay away from home 😉

Thank you, thank you! I am amazed at how things just “happened”. DazyLady and I actually turned to each other after meeting Ms. Wagener and said, “What the hell just happened?”

So glad that you enjoyed the article! I can’t tell you how much I agonized over it, but from those who have read it – they’ve all had wonderful things to say. I sincerely hope they aren’t just “being nice”.

As for the hotel – I DID ponder at Round #2 stepping out and knocking on the door and introducing myself as the person on the OTHER side of the wall. I chose to not do that.

Hey chica, thanks so much for the shout-out here! I had a blast chatting (and getting shushed) w/you too. Glad we’re socially connected now and can’t wait to hear what you think of my little opus. BTW, totally agree about Ms Sandburg’s PoV…not a fan and had no problem heading out early and missing it.

Opportunistically, one of my co workers has her book and I aim to ask if I may borrow it just so I can make an informed decision, but really… I think I’ll come to the same conclusion. However – your book first!

You’re welcome for the shout out! I think we need to be shushed more often. As the adage says, “Well-behaved women rarely make history”.